Lluvias de Mayo | Rains of May

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From its heights, the tree shares its remembrances with us: from extraordinary fruits, drops fall on metallic drums placed around its trunk. Each drum represents one year in the life of the tree and has an inscription with the memories of the people. Individual stories shape collective history. 

During the night, some lights illuminate the branches. They invite us to dive into the memories and to listen to the present around us, every drop keeps passing time. 

Are those the tears from the tree?
Is he nostalgic about the past or is he sad about the current state of the world?

In a village where flooding are frequent, pictures and documents are rare, the water of the river takes the memories away. Drops erase the words in each drum, memories are ephemeral…

Exhibitions: Public sound installation at Paso de Telaya (México), Sound-Piece Released at Museo Amparo, Video-Piece released at Casa del Lago virtual,
Broadcast: Radio Grenouille (Fr), Les Siestes Électroniques (Fr)
Project realized during a residence program at Casa Proal in 2020.

Links:
Sound recording here (12min) 
Interview about the installation here (in Spanish)
Live conversation & presentation on the project at UNAM
Pictures from the installation
Pictures of the process and installation with the inhabitants
Download the book “Memories of a Tree” in PDF here